Use of smokeless tobacco in the United States: recent estimates from the current population survey.

Chewing tobacco, snuff, and total smokeless tobacco use from the 1985 Current Population Survey (CPS) are reported. The CPS is the only survey capable of providing national, regional, and individual state tobacco use estimates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The prevalence of smokeless tobacco use varies considerably among and within regions of the country, by division and state. Smokeless tobacco use is highest in the South and lowest in the Northeast. Individual states with the highest smokeless tobacco use among males are West Virginia (23.1%), Mississippi (16.5%), Wyoming (15.8%), Arkansas (14.7%), and Kentucky (13.6%). In all regions of the country, use of smokeless tobacco among women is considerably less than men. Nationally, male use of such products was 5.5%; less than 1% of women use them. Snuff consumption is predominantly a behavior characteristic of white males; less than 1% of black or Hispanic males consume this product. Higher percentages of blue-collar and service workers use it compared with white-collar workers. Snuff and chewing tobacco use among teenage boys in the United States increased dramatically between 1970 and 1985, a time when their use of cigarettes was declining. The significance of individual state level estimates is discussed.